WikiLeaks: Murr Said Hizbullah Intended to Kill him, Qaida Planned to Attack Lebanese Plane

Caretaker Defense Minister Elias Murr stressed that Hizbullah planned to kill him, in addition to former Premier Fouad Saniora, and Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri, according to a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published in al-Akhbar on Monday.

The WikiLeaks cable dated May 14, 2008 reported about a meeting between Murr, Gen. Martin Dempsey, Maj. Gen. Robert Allardice, Director of Strategy, Plans and Policy for the U.S. Military Central Command, and former U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michele Sison.

Murr allegedly told his guests that Hizbullah had planted surveillance cameras at Beirut airport in order to target the balance in the government and closely monitor its upcoming target before taking action.

He pointed out that the cameras stolen in September 2007 from the offices of a private airline helped Hizbullah plan for an imminent assassination attempt targeting him, Saniora and Hariri.

The possible assassination of Hariri would lead to a civil war between Shiites and Sunnis whereby Hizbullah would surely blame Sunni al-Qaida members for the murder.

Moreover, Murr revealed a report saying that al-Qaida was plotting for an attack on a plane overflying Rafik Hariri International Airport.

During the meeting, the minister praised the Druze performance when fighting Hizbullah in the Shouf mountains during the May 7 events. “The Druze men were barely armed and still they were capable of defeating those who fought Israel in 2006.”

The Lebanese army is very weak and will be alienated if being forced into a civil war, he told the conferees, according to the cable.

Murr stressed that Hizbullah should be weakened by either an Iranian pressure or an Israeli attack in order for the military to defeat the Shiite group.

He also mentioned a long term plan to strengthen the Lebanese army gradually by providing it with arms and ammunition.